Unable to maintain his dignity, Zachary immediately raised his hands in surrender and exclaimed, “Hold on, there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m a hero!”
A rustling sound came from the depths of the forest as a group of heroes in uniform armor emerged.
The leader of the group was a bald and muscular man, towering over two meters tall, with a giant axe on his back and a terrifying scar running across his bald head like a centipede.
“And which city’s hero might you be?” The voice of the muscular, bald man echoed powerfully.
“Riverside. I’m a hero from Riverside,” Zachary quickly replied.
At the mention of Riverside, the bald man’s expression turned serious, a hint of interest sparkling in his eyes.
He waved to his men to release Zachary, then asked, “Since you’re from Riverside, you must know Rose, right?”
“Of course, I know her,” Zachary nodded.
Although he didn’t know why the man was looking for Rose, her fame among the hero factions was now indisputable.
Denying knowledge of her could potentially be lethal.
“Well, then we have plenty to talk about. Let’s have a chat about this Miss Rose. We, the Wolf Fang, have great respect for her,” the bald man grinned, gesturing for his men to bring Zachary over.
He threw Zachary a skin bag.
As they both started sipping from their drinks, they casually started a conversation.
Zachary, who had always been a social butterfly, quickly understood who these heroes were and their origins.
The bald man’s name was Kevin Peterson, the leader of a team of heroes known as Wolf Fang.
His team was comprised mostly of B-rank heroes and above.
As for his own rank, Kevin did not reveal it.
However, Zachary estimated it to be at least an A rank.
Their purpose of coming to Riverside was — to slay a dragon!
When Rose defeated the Black Dragon and brought it live to Riverside, she became the first ever town leader in the Hero faction.
Her status and fame aroused the envy of all.
For those Heroes born in Imperial City, it also triggered their competitive spirit.
Imperial City had the most resources, allowing them to attain the most powerful skills.
The NPCs of the empire were also very strong.
They had hardly ever lost in their fights against the Dark Lords.
Most of the powerful players in the Hero faction were from Imperial City.
Despite their advantages, they were outdone by a woman, Rose.
This was something they couldn’t accept, so many Heroes decided to challenge Rose.
If Rose could defeat a dragon, they too wanted to demonstrate a comparable achievement.
But dragons were not so easy to find…
In the Sunset Empire, the only place where dragons resided was Riverside.
Their target was not the captured Black Dragon, but another dragon.
The golden dragon that had attacked Riverside and caused many bloody incidents was now on the imperial wanted list with a high bounty.
“Do you know where the golden dragon is now?” Kevin Peterson eagerly asked.
He could tell that Zachary Barnes was not weak, and any Hero who dared to travel alone in the wild would undoubtedly be strong.
He hoped to get some useful information from Zachary.
“Golden dragon…”
Upon hearing Kevin’s question, Zachary’s heart skipped a beat.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony.
He knew the golden dragon all too well, after all, it was his master.
Surveying this group of Heroes, Zachary began to consider his words.
While he didn’t think they could stand against Ethan, it wasn’t his call to make.
His plan was to keep them steady, and then let Ethan make the final decision.
“Of course, I know!” Zachary slapped his thigh, startling the people around him with his enthusiasm.
“You have no idea how fierce the battle for Riverside was. The dumb town leader took all the main forces to the outskirts to fight the Black Dragon.𝗈𝗏𝓛xt.𝗇𝓔t
“Then, a traitor in Riverside stole the crystal that maintained the protective barrier, leading to us being at a disadvantage when the Dark Lord army attacked…
“My team was almost entirely annihilated by that golden dragon. Brother, you’re asking the right person if you want to know about that dragon.
“To tell you the truth, the reason why I’m alone in the wilderness is to track down that dragon… and I have gathered quite a bit of information. Now it’s getting late, and the brothers of Wolf Fang need to rest. Why don’t we return to Riverside, where I’ll host you. We can chat over some drinks.”
Kevin Peterson looked at his men, noticing they were tempted.
Since leaving Imperial City, they hadn’t had a proper rest for a long time.
Kevin nodded and said, “Since brother Barnes insists, it would be rude of us to decline.”
Soon, they returned to Riverside.
On the way, Zachary sent several private messages to his subordinates, informing them about the Hero group and asking them to report to Ethan for further instructions.
Zachary didn’t have to wait long for Ethan’s reply.
It was simple, just four words: “Lead them into the pot.”
Knowing Ethan’s intention, Zachary felt relieved and invited the Wolf Fang group to a bar, where he booked the entire place.
While everyone was enjoying their drinks, Zachary started to share the information he had gathered.
“You guys might find this hard to believe… but that golden dragon is not native to this world. It’s an outsider, like us, but from a different faction,” Zachary Barnes said.
Kevin Peterson frowned at this revelation, “You mean… it’s a Dark Lord?”
“Yes,” Zachary Barnes nodded gravely. Kevin Peterson’s expression turned serious.
Defeating a dragon and conquering a dragon Dark Lord were two very different things.
If the golden dragon had also crossed over from another world, that meant it had the support of the system, and its power and threat level would be much higher than that of a regular dragon.
Concerned, Kevin Peterson asked, “How strong is this golden dragon Dark Lord, do you know, Zachary?”
“I do,” Zachary Barnes said, his tone slightly boastful.
“The golden dragon… let’s just say its situation is quite bad right now. After the Battle of Riverside, in my quest for revenge, I pursued the golden dragon for a long time but came up empty-handed. That was until the day Riverside launched an all-out attack on the Black Dragon.”
“In a temple, a Dungeon gate burst open. The golden dragon led a vast army of monsters and launched an attack on Riverside’s army. It seemed it had formed an alliance with the Black Dragon. With two dragons teamed up, victory was almost certain until the tide of battle shifted dramatically. You might not know how Rose won the war; it was a combination of luck and strength.”
“Under attack from both dragons, Riverside’s army was caught between a rock and a hard place and quickly defeated. Then, a conflict suddenly erupted between the golden Dark Lord and the Black Dragon. You know how Dark Lords are…”
“When the golden Dark Lord arrived, the Black Dragon was already severely wounded. The golden Dark Lord decided to take out the Black Dragon too, but the latter still had an ace up its sleeve. The two fought and both ended up severely wounded, only to be caught by the arriving Rose.”
“The Black Dragon was captured, the golden dragon escaped… most of its troops were wiped out.”
Kevin Peterson’s eyes lit up, “So according to what you’re saying, isn’t this the perfect opportunity to take down that golden Dark Lord?”
“Exactly!” Zachary Barnes lamented, “I tracked the wounded golden Dark Lord and found his lair. I immediately reported it to Riverside’s city lord, Rose. But she refused my proposal to attack the golden dragon, claiming that Riverside should focus on recovery and should not wage any major battles.”
“That’s unexpected.” Kevin Peterson frowned.
In his impression, someone as famous as Rose wouldn’t be so short-sighted.
The golden dragon was a Dark Lord, a great threat to the Hero faction if allowed to recover.
It would be better to strike while the iron was hot and take him down first.
Zachary Barnes looked at Kevin Peterson and said, “I was puzzled at first too. But I soon realized that Rose wants to foster a threat to secure her own position.”
“Although the Sunset Empire has received a lot of help from us Heroes, apart from Rose, no one else holds a high position. If Rose directly eradicated the golden dragon now, without Riverside’s major threat, her position as city lord would naturally become unstable.”
The members of the Wolf Fang Hero group nodded in understanding.
If it weren’t for the pursuit of higher power and positions, they wouldn’t have traveled all this way to slay the dragon.
Kevin Peterson lifted his cup and laughed, “Everyone has their own agenda, and I can’t say Rose is wrong. After all, we are all here for fame and fortune.”
“Brother Zachary, I won’t beat around the bush. We aim to slay the dragon to ascend higher in the Sunset Empire. If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you to join our Wolf Fang group. Together, we can slay the golden Dark Lord!”
“If Brother Kevin doesn’t mind, I’d be more than willing to lend a hand!” Zachary Barnes lifted his drink in salute to Kevin Peterson.
“Well then, it’s settled! As soon as the rest of the Wolf Fang group arrives, we set off!”
“The day of the dragon slaying is here!”
“Slay the dragon!”
The Heroes drained their glasses, their spirits soaring.